Metering devices, such as gas and water meters, are provided by utility companies to measure usage of individual clients for billing purposes. Such meters are sometimes housed in a compression type meter box which is recessed in the surrounding surface. There, the meter is "in line" with the inlet and outlet piping and is somewhat protected from freezing and damage. The meter box has a lid thereon to allow the utility company to obtain a reading from the meter and bill the client accordingly. In some poorer countries, where the climate is temperate, meter yokes may be used for installation rather than a meter box.
The meter is connected on one end to a main feed line. The meter outlet, through the use of an expansion connection, is connected to an infeed line to the client's facility. The expansion connection is provided to install, seal and retain the meter in the meter box such that a fluid can be transported, measured, recorded and delivered therethrough to the individual client's facility. The expansion connection is provided to fill an irregular gap between the meter and a line leading to the individual client's facility. Typically, expansion connections comprise a plurality of interconnecting pieces, including an integral installation and removal handwheel or wrench.
Unfortunately, many unscrupulous individuals have discovered that it is very easy to loosen the expansion connection by hand and reverse the meter, thereby causing the meter totalizing register to run backwards and register or indicate less than the actual consumption. In some cases, the meters may even be removed and sold for scrap metal. Additionally, in the case of unscrupulous individuals, when the utility company desires to discontinue services to the customer's facility for nonpayment or other appropriate reasons, neither the current expansion connections nor a valve fixed in the meter box are adequate to positively lock a client off. In these and other situations, the utility company is frequently cheated of their due revenues, which is not only illegal but is also a burden on honest clients who end up bearing the burden for those who cheat. Basically, if the utility company can prevent the meter from being removed from the meter box, tampering with the meter can be prevented.
A device designed to fit over many of the presently made expansion connections to prevent removal thereof is disclosed in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 040,922 to Bednarz, filed Apr. 20, 1987. The Bednarz Ser. No. 040,922 locking device makes the best of poorly designed conventional expansion connections by covering the installation and removal handwheel to prevent loosening of the expansion connection and tampering with the meter. However, typical expansion connections comprise an excessive number of intricately machined, close-fitting parts and are therefore excessively complex and expensive to manufacture. Moreover, because of the damp and dirty environment, the close-fitting parts eventually become corroded and encrusted with mineral deposits, etc., and are difficult if not impossible to operate by hand, as designed.
A pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 247,955 to Bednarz, filed Sept. 22, 1988, for a Lockable Water Meter Expansion Connection and Method, discloses a simple and relatively inexpensive expansion connection that is not subject to corrosion and is designed to be locked. The '955 expansion connection may be used to install any American Water Works Association (AWWA) approved meter in any compression-type meter box or setter (includes meter boxes, meter yokes, and any other mechanism used to couple a water meter in-line). The Bednarz Ser. No. 247,955 locking device, however, requires interaction with the meter and meter box or setter to make the meter tamper-proof. Thus, there is a need for a universal expansion connection and lock that may be used to install and/or lock any AWWA approved meter in any compression-type meter setter without requiring interface with the meter and the meter box or setter.